Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal against 20-year sentence
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Lai was convicted in December and sentenced in February on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HONG KONG - Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal against his conviction and 20-year prison sentence for collusion with foreign forces and sedition, his lawyer said on March 6, in a landmark case that has sparked international criticism.
Lai, 78, the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was one of the most outspoken critics of the Chinese Communist Party.
A nearly five-year legal saga ended with his sentencing in February following a December conviction on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials.
A member of Lai’s domestic legal team told Reuters his client would not appeal against the sentence, which has drawn international criticism from countries including Britain and the US.
“We can confirm we have clear and definitive instructions not to lodge an appeal against conviction or sentence,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, but gave no reason for the decision.
Separately, Fung Wai-kong, the former editor-in-chief of the paper’s English news section, launched an appeal on March 2 against his 10-year jail term in the same national security case.
Lai’s son and daughter have warned he might die in prison, as his health is deteriorating after spending more than five years in solitary confinement.
He has diabetes and health problems such as heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
Rights groups and numerous democratic countries have called for Lai’s release.
US President Donald Trump raised the matter with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and is expected to follow up in a closely anticipated visit to Beijing at the end of March.
Hong Kong and Beijing, however, say Lai received a fair trial and all are treated equally under the national security law that has restored order to the city since mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
In a separate case in February, an appeals court handed Lai a rare legal victory by overturning his conviction for fraud and quashing a 69-month sentence. REUTERS
